Ramirez Eats

A few days went by and Ramirez continued to thicken. He was, in fact, growing quite a bit faster than I’d expected. My house is generally cold and Chicago in winter is even colder. The temperature in my apartment is roughly 60 to 65 degrees and my researched suggests that they brew fastest in the warmer months, with a preferred temperature of about 80 degrees. This didn’t seem to stop Ramirez from going to town, however, because he was building up a few layers. Since I’d been eyeing him each day, I didn’t notice his increasing size. I also will admit at this point that I was not drinking him. I mentioned mold in a previous post and I was fearful that somehow, Ramirez was going to grow mold. So I just kept staring at him. I thought if I put him under the UV lights of my aerogarden, anything in him would be killed. (Silly thinking, I realize now.) I only left him up there for one day before tucking him back into his dark spot. After the first 7 days, I figured it was time to feed him again. I didn’t see any signs of mold but I was still too nervous and so, I shamefully admit, I poured his hard-worked brew down the drain. I made up a new batch of Scoby food and left it on the stove to cool. Pouring in hot tea can, in fact, kill your Scoby. Unfortunately, I left it on the stove too long and when I returned, some dog hair had floated into my brew. So I poured it out and began anew. Eventually, Ramirez got his food and again, I set him in his corner to brew. 

So is it safe? I don’t know. I’m assuming that thus far, since I haven’t gotten ill from Ramirez, or the other I sampled, that I’m ok. But will it manifest later? Will my liver swell? I’m going to hope not. I do want to point out that if you drink excessive amounts of beer, your liver will likely malfunction at some point. But, I still think that each person should weigh the facts and then decide if they’re going to partake or not.